System method, and computer software code for distributing and managing data for use by a plurality of subsystems on a locomotive

ABSTRACT

A communication system includes a data manager unit, a private interface, and an open interface. The data manager unit is configured to be disposed onboard a vehicle and to manage a transmission of data from a control system of the vehicle to a plurality of applications. The private interface is configured to communicably couple the data manager unit to the control system of the vehicle, and to limit communication with the control system via a connection protocol, wherein the connection protocol is configured to prevent direct communication between the data manager unit and an application that does not use the connection protocol. The open interface is configured to communicably couple the data manager unit and the plurality of applications.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and is a Divisional of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/655,719, “System, Method, And Computer SoftwareCode For Distributing And Managing Data For Use By A Plurality OfSubsystems On A Locomotive,” filed Oct. 19, 2012, which is aContinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/538,608, “System, Method,and Computer Software Code for Distributing and Managing Data for Use bya Plurality of Subsystems on a Locomotive,” filed Aug. 10, 2009, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,295,998 issued Oct. 23, 2012, which claims priority toU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/177,257, filed May 11, 2009, all ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to communicationsystems and, more particularly, to providing a common communication andphysical interface for data distribution across a plurality ofsubsystems on a locomotive.

A railroad locomotive supplies motive power (traction) to move thelocomotive and a load (e.g., non-powered railcars and their contents),and applies brakes on the locomotive and/or on the non-powered railcarsto slow or stop the train. The motive power is supplied by electrictraction motors responsive to an AC or DC power signal generated by thelocomotive engine.

In addition to the system producing motive power, there are a pluralityof other subsystems that are part of a locomotive that perform differentfunctions, such as, but not limited to, distributed power remote controlapplications, energy management applications, train controlapplications, train management system applications, display and eventrecorder applications, brake control system applications, etc. Othersubsystems, to better improve the performance, are continuously beingsupplied for use with or in locomotives.

Currently, a communication management unit (CMU) is used to communicateinformation off-board and onboard the locomotive through an antenna.Though minor functions of the subsystems identified above may use aprocessor that is part of the CMU in performing certain subsystemspecific tasks, the CMU is unable to communicate information providedfrom one subsystem between the other subsystems. Furthermore, nosystem/process currently exists to allow for seamless integration ofsubsystems in a locomotive where information between the subsystems maybe shared to provide for more efficient operation of each subsystemindividually and collectively. Therefore, locomotive operators andowners would benefit from a standard interface for accessing dataassociated with control of the locomotive and other onboard subsystemswhere data specific to each subsystem is made available to the othersubsystems in the locomotive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present inventive subject matter relate to a system,method, and computer software code for controlling sharing of dataacross a plurality of subsystems on a locomotive. The system is acommunication system that comprises an open defined interface unitconfigured so that a plurality of applications may access locomotivecontrol system data in a common defined manner with predictable results.Thus, in one aspect, “open defined interface” refers to an interfacebetween systems/subsystems in a locomotive (as effectuated by theinterface unit) for the exchange of locomotive control system dataand/or other data, which is open for access by a plurality ofapplications in a common, defined manner.

The method comprises autonomously managing a transmission of data from alocomotive control system to a plurality of applications, between theplurality of applications, from a sensor to one or more of the pluralityof applications, from a communication management unit to the pluralityof applications, and/or from off-board the locomotive to the pluralityof applications. The method further comprises autonomously managing atransmission of data received from the plurality of applications todetermine which application data is provided to the locomotive controlsystem. The method further comprises operating the locomotive based onthe application data provided to the locomotive control system.

The computer software code is stored on a computer readable medium andconfigured for execution with a processor designated for operating alocomotive. The computer software code comprises a computer softwaremodule for autonomously managing a transmission of data from alocomotive control system to a plurality of applications, between theplurality of applications, from a sensor to a plurality of applications,from a communication management unit to the plurality of applications,and/or from off-board the locomotive to the plurality of applications.The computer software code further comprises a computer software modulefor autonomously managing a transmission of data received from theplurality of applications to determine which application data isprovided to the locomotive control system. The computer software codealso comprises a computer software module for operating the locomotivebased on the application data provided to the locomotive control system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more particular description of the inventive subject matter brieflydescribed above will be rendered by reference to specific embodimentsthereof that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understandingthat these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the inventivesubject matter and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting ofits scope, the embodiments of the inventive subject matter will bedescribed and explained with additional specificity and detail throughthe use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment fordistribution of data between a locomotive control system and locomotivesubsystems;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a control manager;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment fordistribution of data between a locomotive control system, locomotivesubsystems, and an interface with an operator; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a methodfor distribution of data between a locomotive control system andlocomotive subsystems.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will be made below in detail to exemplary embodiments of theinventive subject matter, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numeralsused throughout the drawings refer to the same or like parts.

Exemplary embodiments of the inventive subject matter solve problems inthe art by providing a method, system, and computer implemented method,such as a computer software code or computer readable media, forproviding an open defined interface so that any application may accesslocomotive control system data in a common defined manner withpredictable results.

Persons skilled in the art will recognize that an apparatus, such as adata processing system, including a CPU, memory, I/O, program storage, aconnecting bus, and other appropriate components, could be programmed orotherwise designed to facilitate the practice of the method of theinventive subject matter. Such a system would include appropriateprogram means for executing the method of the inventive subject matter.

Also, an article of manufacture, such as a pre-recorded disk, computerreadable media, or other similar computer program product, for use witha data processing system, could include a storage medium and programmeans recorded thereon for directing the data processing system tofacilitate the practice of the method of the inventive subject matter.Such apparatus and articles of manufacture also fall within the spiritand scope of the inventive subject matter.

Broadly speaking, a technical effect is to provide an open definedinterface so that any application may access locomotive control systemdata in a common defined manner with predictable results, for moreefficient and better operation (possibly including autonomous operation)of a locomotive. To facilitate an understanding of the exemplaryembodiments of the inventive subject matter, it is described hereinafterwith reference to specific implementations thereof. Exemplaryembodiments of the inventive subject matter may be described in thegeneral context of computer-executable instructions, such as programmodules, being executed by any device, such as but not limited to acomputer, designed to accept data, perform prescribed mathematicaland/or logical operations usually at high speed, where results of suchoperations may or may not be displayed. Generally, program modulesinclude routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc.that performs particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. For example, the software programs that underlie exemplaryembodiments of the inventive subject matter can be coded in differentprogramming languages, for use with different devices, or platforms. Itwill be appreciated, however, that the principles that underlieexemplary embodiments of the inventive subject matter can be implementedwith other types of computer software technologies as well.

Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that exemplaryembodiments of the inventive subject matter may be practiced with othercomputer system configurations, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Exemplary embodimentsof the inventive subject matter may also be practiced in distributedcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through at least one communications network. Ina distributed computing environment, program modules may be located inboth local and remote computer storage media including memory storagedevices.

Referring now to the drawings, embodiments of the present inventivesubject matter will be described. Exemplary embodiments of the inventivesubject matter can be implemented in numerous ways, including as asystem (including a computer processing system), a method (including acomputerized method), an apparatus, a computer readable medium, acomputer program product, or a data structure tangibly fixed in acomputer readable memory. Several embodiments of the inventive subjectmatter are discussed below.

FIG. 1 is block diagram illustrating distribution of data between acontrol system and applications. The applications 16 are incommunication with a data management unit, data distribution unit, ordata manager 12. The terms “data management unit,” “data distributionunit,” and “data manager” are interchangeable terms since such units areconfigured to manage a distribution of data. The underlying embodimentis an open defined interface so that any application may accesslocomotive control system data in a common defined manner withpredictable results. For example, certain subsystems may be consideredsource applications while other applications may be considered serviceapplications, where a service application may request data from either asource application or another service application, and a sourceapplication may request data from either a service application oranother source application. (Source and service applications aredescribed in more detail below.) In one exemplary embodiment, a commoncommunication standard may utilize shared memory, such as provided witha communication management unit (CMU) as illustrated in FIG. 3, or inanother embodiment as provided with an independent data management unit,or data distribution unit, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The communicationmay include requests between service applications and sourceapplications, and/or transfer of data associated with maintaining and/oroperating the locomotive.

For example, Application 1 of the plurality of applications 16 may benotified depending on whether other service applications and/or sourceapplications are functioning or are not functioning. Once an applicationis functioning (more specifically, once an application is recognizedthrough the communication standard), information from that applicationis identified to the other applications, and information from the nowrecognized application is available to the other applications. Thus,information from the other applications may be used by Application 1 asApplication 1 performs the intended function of Application 1.

In an exemplary embodiment, the communication requests may beaccomplished with a “publish” and “subscribe” concept. The sourceapplications are considered publishers, which declare to send and thenpublish data available by or from the source application. The serviceapplications are considered subscribers, which declare (request) toreceive data and where the data requested is autonomously delivered.Some applications may be both source applications and serviceapplications. The term “autonomous” is defined as being able to performan intended function with none to minimum operator (e.g., human operatorof a locomotive) input.

The communication requests are communicated through a communicationstandard, as implemented on or as part of one or more system components,e.g., the data manager 12 or otherwise. An example of a communicationstandard is a data-distribution service for real-time systems (DDS)standard. The DDS standard is a middleware standard that directlyaddresses publish-subscribe communications for real-time and embeddedsystems. The DDS standard provides for a virtual global data space whereapplications 16 can share information by simply reading and writingdata-objects addressed by means of an application-defined name, ortopic, and/or a key that is unique to a specific application. Use of theDDS standard provides for extensive control of quality of serviceparameters, such as but not limited to reliability, bandwidth, deliverydeadlines, and resource limits. Thus, the communications between theservice applications and source applications are able to provide forone-to-many data transfers, many-to-one data transfers, many-to-manydata transfers, topic-based data transfer, and/or multi-rate messagetransfer.

In another exemplary embodiment, a data dictionary is provided whichdefines all data available from a control manager 20, described infurther detail below. The data dictionary may be unique to each type oflocomotive. The sort of information contained within the data dictionarymay include, but is not limited to, specified frequencies at which datais delivered. For example, some data may be provided at 1 Hertz (Hz),while other data is provided at 10 Hz, and still other data is providedat 0.2 Hz. A data dictionary may also be provided that defines dataavailable to at least one of the plurality of applications and/or acommand request available from the control manager unit. The data isprovided based on a relative priority of the applications, aftervalidating the authority of the application to receive the requesteddata. The data manager 12 maintains the authority level of eachapplication to receive certain classes of data and the relativeapplication priority of the application.

Though the term “source application” and “service application” are usedabove, each of these terms may be used interchangeably with respect tohow a certain application is being used at any given time. Therefore,for simplicity, “application” will be used instead of these morespecific terms.

The data manager 12 may be a standard locomotive standard integration(“LSI”) box or hardware with appropriate processor and softwareapplications. The data manager 12 allows for the applications 16 torequest and be supplied with data where the data may be from the datamanager 12, sensors 17, information from off-board the locomotive (suchas but not limited to information from a remote track database), and/ordata from other applications 16. To perform this function, the datamanager 12, a control system 10 of the locomotive, and each application16 are in communication directly or indirectly. All of the communicationfunctions of the data manager 12 may be performed through a finitesequence of instructions, an explicit, step-by-step procedure forsolving a problem, or an algorithm, that performs functions of theprocedure or algorithm in a processor 31 that is a part of the datamanager 12.

Any one of the on-board applications 16 can request data. Data wouldthen be provided at a specific frequency, as provided by the controlsystem 10 and the data manager 12. In an exemplary embodiment, thespecific data and frequency available are published so that applicationdesigners can design applications 16 to operate within theselimitations. The data manager 12 may also be configured to includedistribution of dynamic wayside data that may include, but is notlimited to, data associated with signal aspect, switch position,crossing gate position, etc.

Information, or data, is provided from the control system 10, throughthe data manager 12 to the applications 16. The communication connectionbetween the data manager 12 and the control system 10 is through aprivate interface 18. All of the interfaces 18, 19 disclosed herein maybe Ethernet based. Having the private interface 18 means thatcommunications between the control system 10 and any other devices arelimited, e.g., with a proprietary connection protocol, to ensure thatthe other devices are designed to communicate with the control system 10so as not to interfere with the operation of the control system 10. Forexample, if an attempt is made to bypass the data manager 12 and connectan application 16 directly to the control system 10, such a bypassattempt would not be possible without knowing the proprietary connectionprotocol.

The communication connection between the data manager 12 and theapplications 16 is an open interface 19. Having an open interface 19means that other devices and/or applications may be connected throughthe open interface 19, wherein once connected the connection protocolallows for the transmission of data or information through the openinterface 19. The open interface 19 also provides for a uniform,possibly even simplified interface.

As disclosed above, the type of data that can be provided to theapplications 16 is not limited to data gathered from the control system10. The track data that may be provided from off-board the locomotivemay be provided through the data manager from an external source. Thedata may be received via an 802.11 wireless local area network to reducethe cost, or in-route as necessary via a satellite/cell phone and thencommunicated to the data manager 12, such as may be available via a CMUor a mobile access router. Additionally, prime directive data (trackauthorities and speed restrictions) data may also be provided throughthe data manager 12.

An example of sensor data that is provided may include common globalpositioning system (“GPS”) data, wheel speed data, fuel consumption,etc. By using the data manager 12 to provide sensor data to applications16, sensor replication aboard the locomotive is not required. Sincesensors 17 are part of the locomotive, and are likely to be used withinthe control system 10, data from the sensors 17 may be provided throughthe private interface 18 connecting the data manager 12 to the controlsystem 10. Though only one sensor 17 is illustrated, this single sensoris representative of any number of sensors 17. Additionally, though thesensor 17 is illustrated as being a subset of the control system 10, thesensor 17 may be an independent element, having its own interface,either a private interface 18 or an open interface 19. As disclosed inFIG. 3, other types of sensors are illustrated where the sensors may beconsidered source applications.

Additionally, the data manager 12 may be configured to solve applicationdata distribution issues. For example, if two applications 16 arerequiring data at the same time where bandwidth is not available fordelivery of the data to both of the applications simultaneously, thedata manager 12 will schedule delivery of the data. The delivery of thedata may be based on any number of factors including, but not limitedto, priority, bandwidth, duration, vitality, etc. The data manager 12may also be used to solve data currency issues.

In operation, the applications 16 are able to register and/orcommunicate their data needs with the data manager 12. For example,Application 1 may require track data at a certain rate, such as but notlimited to a given distance ahead of a current location. The datamanager 12 is also able to collect data from other applications, and/orthe control system, and provide Application 1 the data required, withoutimpacting the source application. Thus, the data manager 12 providessharing of data between applications 16 without impact to any of theapplications 16. Additionally, point-to-point interface definitions,which may be costly, between the applications 16, and/or the controlsystem 10 are no longer needed since a common interface is providedthrough the data manager 12.

A common interface is used to provide information from the applications16 to the control system 10. The common interface is identified as thelocomotive control manager unit 20, or locomotive control manager, andthe common interface is a single integration point for all applications16 that want to provide control input to the locomotive. The “controlinput” may be data (e.g., data to be provided to the control system 10;some such data, originating from the applications 16, is referred toherein as “application data”) and/or a command request, e.g., a requestthat the control system act upon a particular command. As illustrated inFIG. 2, elements of the control manager 20 may include, but are notlimited to, a connector 21 for the open interface 19 to receive controlrequests from the applications 16, a processor 32 that has analgorithm/software 27 which is operable within the processor 32 toperform the functions discussed below, and a connector or other controlsystem interface 36 specific to the control system 10 for a specifictype of locomotive, as illustrated by “Locomotive A,” “Locomotive B.”“Locomotive C,” and “Locomotive D.” Examples of different specific typesof locomotives include an EMD SD70™ locomotive, a General Electric (GE)Dash 9™ locomotive, a GE AC4400™ locomotive, and/or a GE Evolution™series locomotive. The data manager 12 also is equipped with a similarconnector 21 for the open interface, a processor 31 in which analgorithm may operate, and a connector for the private interface 18.

The interface between the applications 16 and the control manager 20, orreceiving interface, is an open interface 19, which provides a commoninterface for the applications 16 to access the locomotive controlsystem 10. The interface between the control manager 20 and the controlsystem 10 is a private interface 18. Aspects of the control system 10that are accessible and controlled include, but are not limited to,throttle or notch control, dynamic brake control, automatic airbrakecontrol, wireless distributed power, wired distributed power,independent brake control or operation, etc. The control manager 20 isable to authorize and prioritize to avoid an undesired state or conflictfor controlling data (and other control input) provided from theapplications 16 to the locomotive control system 10 that is able tode-conflict any conflicting input from on-board diverse applicationslike a train control application or an energy management application.

In operation, the control manager 20 processes control input receivedfrom the plurality of applications 16, for providing to the controlsystem 10 or otherwise. For example, the control manager 20 may receiveapplication data from the applications 16 (or other data) and processthe data for selectively providing the data to the control system, e.g.,for determining which application data is provided to the locomotivecontrol system. (For example, data may only be provided based upon theneeds or requests of the control system 10, or that certain data is onlyprovided depending on the operational state of the control system and/orlocomotive generally.) In another example, the control manager 20 mayreceive command requests from the plurality of applications 16 anddetermine which of the received command requests is provided to thecontrol system for use in operating the locomotive. This determinationmay be based on time factors (when the command requests are received,and the timeliness of the command requests), a priority hierarchy amongtypes of different command requests, the relationship between aparticular command request and the current operational mode of thelocomotive (e.g., certain requests may only be applicable when thelocomotive is in a particular mode of operation), the relation between aparticular command request and other command requests received eitherbefore or after the command request (e.g., one command request may bemoot in light of a previously recently received command), etc. Inanother aspect, the control manager 20 is able to resolve conflictsbetween the applications 16 and between control input received from theapplications. For example, if a locomotive is equipped with an energymanagement application and a train control application, and if the traincontrol application does not have the appropriate movement authority totransition the locomotive over a piece of track, or within a certainterritory, the control manager 20 may call for a stop (stop commandrequest) via the train automatic brake application. At the same time,the energy management application may not be aware that the train is notauthorized to proceed and may call for notch 6 (throttle commandrequest) over a given territory. The control manager 20 would be able toresolve the conflict by using data from one or more other applications16 and/or based on a priority that is preset within the control manager20 that establishes application priority. The control manager 20 is alsoable to override and/or isolate an application that is malfunctioning.As disclosed above, the control manager 20 also provides for safeinterlocks among the controls. Additionally, as disclosed in furtherdetail below, the control manager 20 is able to receive inputs from anoperator, which is sent to the control system 10 for implementation.These manual inputs also have to be de-conflicted with requestingapplications.

In one embodiment, the data that is being passed from the control system10 through the data manager 12 and control manager 20 and to theapplications 16 is real-time data. Thus, the implementation ofcontrolling the system is accomplished with current data. As furtherillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, a system and/or process are provided. Byhaving a closed loop control system/process, control of the locomotivemay be autonomously performed, where inputs from an application, suchas, but not limited to, an energy management application and/or a traincontrol application, determines a speed to operate over a route based onthe train consist and terrain, and the control manager 20 operates thethrottle and brake in accordance with the inputs. More specifically, thecontrol manager 20 autonomously provides directions, or commands, to thelocomotive control system 10, which in turn commands the throttle (e.g.,notch setting), dynamic brake, automatic train air brake, independentbrake, and direction of travel of the locomotive. Hence, the locomotiveis able to operate in an “autopilot” mode. Examples of the energymanagement application and a variation of the control manager 20 aredisclosed in trip/mission optimizer patent applications assigned to theAssignee of the present inventive subject matter, such as U.S.Publication Nos. 2008/0082223, 2007/0219683 and 2007/0219680 (see, forexample, U.S. Publication No. 2007-0219680-A1 dated Sep. 20, 2007). Theclosed loop control system includes at least one application 16, thecontrol system 10, and the control manager 20. The closed loop controlsystem may also include the data manager 12. (The closed loop controlsystem, in any of the embodiments herein, can be characterized by theoperation of the locomotive being regulated by, or otherwise based on,feedback regarding the operation and operational performance of thelocomotive, e.g., the locomotive is operated based both on control inputand on sensed feedback of one or more operational characteristics of thelocomotive, such as actual speed, actual direction, acceleration, sensedlocation, and the like.)

FIG. 3 is block diagram illustrating distribution of data between acontrol system and applications also with a display manager unit, ordisplay manager 24. The display manager 24 is used to decide which datais communicated to an operator onboard the locomotive. At least onecommon display 26 is also provided. A plurality of common displays maybe provided. When the operator desires information specific to a certainapplication and/or an operating aspect of the control system 10 and/orlocomotive, the operator is able to select that application 16 and/orthe operating aspect of the control system 10 and/or locomotive.

The terms “display manager” and “display” are terms not meant to belimited to providing only data visually to the operator. The displaymanager may provide a flow, or transmission, of data made available toan operator as visual data, tactile data, and/or audio data. Therefore,the display may be a device that provides the information to theoperator in the intended form identified, such as but not limited tovisually, through touch, and/or audible. The terms “flow” or“transmission” are not meant to be limiting. These terms are used toinclude for a distribution of data between two locations, such as butnot limited to units, applications, and/or devices.

The display manager 24 is connected directly to the applications 16through a negotiated interface 33, or more specifically an interfacethat is defined specific for a purpose of each application. Theinterface between the display 26, user interface 28, and display manager24 may also be a private interface.

FIG. 3 also illustrates the data manager 12 being connected to acommunication management unit (“CMU”) 14. Thus, in implementation,instead of the functionality of the CMU 14 being integrated within asingle data manager unit, a data manager unit may be connected to anexisting CMU 14. The CMU 14 is also in communication with the locomotivecontrol system 10 using its own private interface 18. The connectionbetween the data manager 12 and the CMU 14 may be either a privateinterface 18 or an open interface 19. The data passed from the CMU 14 tothe data manager 12 is data needed by the applications 16, and isgenerally information that the CMU 14 received from sources that areremote from the locomotive.

A file management staging unit (“FMS”) 35 may be part of the datamanager 12. The FMS 35 is provided to receive and distribute applicationreplacement/updates for the applications and/or sensors, where thesensors are considered source applications. As illustrated, examples ofsuch source applications include, but are not limited to GPS, MoviePicture Expert Group (“MPEG”) encoder, fuel (“FLM”) indicator, eventrecorder (“ER”), etc. The replacement/updates may be provided from anexternal source from the locomotive, where the data is communicatedthrough the CMU 14, or as illustrated in FIG. 1 though the data manager12, which includes CMU-like functionality.

The representations of the applications 16 in FIGS. 1 and 3 as blocksare provided to represent that each application performs a uniquefunction. In operation, each application may have its own hardware andsoftware components, or instead of each application having its ownhardware, each application (or software, or algorithm) is housed withinhardware where all hardware has a common bus and/or a common housingwhere common processors are used. Servers may be provided, wheremultiple applications are stored in each server. Instead of allowing anyapplication to reside on any server, the importance of the applicationmay determine which server is installed within. For example, a non-vitalserver may be used for non-vital applications while a vital server maybe used for vital applications. In such a configuration, the vitalserver may have more redundancy than the non-vital server. Additionally,when multiple servers are used (either hosting an individual applicationper server or applications grouped together on designated servers), theservers and hence the applications, may use multicasting, or multicastdelivery, to publish data. Those skilled in the art will readilyrecognize that “multicast,” or “multicasting,” refers to using a networktechnology for the delivery of data, or information, to a group ofdestinations simultaneously using the most efficient strategy to deliverthe messages over each link of the network only once, creating copiesonly when links to the multiple destinations split.

Although the control manager 20 is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3 as beingseparate from the control system 10, the control manager 20 may be apart of the control system 10, such as integrated directly into thecontrol system 10. The data manager 12 may be a part of the CMU 14, morespecifically hosted within existing CMU chassis and/or processor.Additionally, the interfaces 18, 19 may be part of a router tocommunicate data from the data manager 12 to the applications 16 andfrom the applications 16 to the control manager 20. Similarly, eventhough the data manager 12 and control manager 20 are displayed as beingtwo separate units, those skilled in the art will recognize that theseunits may be a single unit, and/or within a common housing. Thus, thedata manager 12 and control manager 20 within the common housing (oreven as separate units) may be considered an open defined interfaceunit. Toward this end, the processor 31 that is part of the data manager12 and the processor 32 that is part of the control manager 20 may be asingle processor. Illustrating all of the units as blocks in FIGS. 1 and3 is done solely to illustrate functionality of the variousunits/elements disclosed herein, and should not be considered limitingwith respect to packaging.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart 40 of a method for operating a locomotive. Theflowchart 40 illustrates autonomously managing a flow of data from acontrol system of the locomotive to a plurality of applications, betweenthe plurality of applications, from a sensor to the plurality ofapplications (or to other applications), and/or from a communicationmanagement unit to the plurality of applications, at 42. The flowchartfurther illustrates autonomously managing a flow of data received fromthe plurality of applications to determine which application data isprovided to the control system, at 44. The locomotive is operated withthe application data provided to the control system, at 46. As discussedabove, operating the locomotive may further include autonomouslyoperating the locomotive by autonomously implementing changes todirection of travel, changes to notch/throttle or speed, and/or dynamicbraking and air brake operation. Additionally, autonomously managing theflow of data from the locomotive control system, at 42, may furtherinclude distributing data to the plurality of applications based on anauthority and/or priority for distributing data.

The method shown in the flowchart 40 may be performed with a computersoftware code having computer software modules where the computersoftware code is stored on a computer media and is executed with aprocessor. Thus, each process flow in the flowchart 40 is performed by acomputer software module specific to the process contained in a specificprocess. For example, autonomously managing a flow of data from acontrol system of the locomotive to a plurality of applications, betweenthe plurality of applications, from a sensor to the plurality ofapplications (or to other applications), and/or from a communicationmanagement unit to the plurality of applications, at 42, is performed bya computer software module for autonomously managing a flow of data froma control system of the locomotive to a plurality of applications,between the plurality of applications, from a sensor to the plurality ofapplications, and/or from a communication management unit to theplurality of applications.

As discussed above, one embodiment of the present inventive subjectmatter relates to a communication system (different embodiments showngenerally in FIGS. 1 and 3) for controlling sharing of data across aplurality of subsystems on a locomotive. In one embodiment, thecommunication system comprises an open defined interface unit, whichestablishes an interface between the locomotive subsystems for theexchange of locomotive control system data and/or other data. Theinterface is open for access by a plurality of applications in a common,defined manner. The “other” data may be data that is used by thesubsystems/applications apart from the locomotive control system;examples include: communication data to be transmitted off-board, butthat does not originate with the control system, e.g., operator or voicedispatch communications; communications data received from off-board thelocomotive that is not used for control purposes; data that is generatedand/or stored for archival purposes; certain time data, location data,train/locomotive data, etc.; and the like.

In one embodiment, the open defined interface unit comprises, at leastfunctionally speaking, a data manager 12 for managing data, as describedabove. In another embodiment, the open defined interface unit comprises,at least functionally, a control manager 20 for managing control input,as described above. In another embodiment, the open defined interfaceunit comprises, at least functionally, a data manager 12 for managingdata (e.g., in the manner described above) and a control manager 20 formanaging control input (e.g., in the manner described above). In oneembodiment, the data manager 12 and control manager 20 are integratedinto a single electronic unit, for systems simplification and/orefficiency purposes. In another embodiment, the data manager 12 andcontrol manager 20 are separate electronic units that are housed in acommon housing, for conserving space while providing interconnectionand/or systems flexibility, e.g., in terms of how the data manager 12and control manager 20 are connected and what the data manager 12 andcontrol manager 20 are connected to. In another embodiment, the datamanager 12 and control manager 20 are separate electronic units that arehoused in different housings, for providing a greater degree offlexibility in terms of system positioning and interconnection, e.g.,the data manager 12 and control manager 20 can be positioned indifferent locations, for more flexibility in terms of whatcomponents/elements/subsystems in the locomotive the data manager 12 andthe control manager 20 are connected to. In another embodiment, one orboth of the data manager 12 or the control manager 20 are functionallyimplemented in an existing electronic subsystem of the locomotive(either the same electronic subsystem or in different subsystems), forsystem efficiency and ease of implementation.

Another embodiment relates to a communication system on a locomotive.The communication system comprises a data manager unit and a controlmanager unit. The data manager unit is configured to manage atransmission of data from a control system of the locomotive to aplurality of applications, between the plurality of applications, from asensor to one or more of the plurality of applications, and from acommunication management unit to the plurality of applications. The datamanager unit is configured as an open defined interface, for theplurality of applications to access locomotive control system data in acommon defined manner, as described in more detail above. The controlmanager unit is configured to receive control input from the pluralityof applications and process the control input for providing to thecontrol system for use in operating the locomotive. For example, thecontrol manager unit may process application data (or other data) and/orcommand requests in a manner as described above. The communicationsystem further comprises a private interface for communications betweenthe data manager unit and the control system and/or between the controlmanager unit and the control system, and an open interface forcommunications between the data manager unit and the plurality ofapplications and for communications between the control manager unit andthe plurality of applications. In another embodiment, the data managerunit is configured to manage the transmission of data, at least betweenthe plurality of applications, based on a publish-subscribecommunications structure (“structure” referring to a configuration orsetup, using program instructions, electronics, other control mechanism,or otherwise, for implementing publish-subscribe communications in thedata manager unit and/or system generally).

As should be appreciated, a modern locomotive is an electro-mechanicalsystem that comprises a plurality of mechanical, electrical, andelectro-mechanical subsystems. An “application,” as used herein, is alocomotive subsystem or portion thereof that utilizes data, providesdata, and/or that provides or utilizes control input. An application maybe a processor or processor-based unit, an algorithm or software asexecuted by a processor or processor-based unit, or the like, but is notlimited in this regard unless otherwise specified. For example, anapplication may be a hardware (e.g., electronics)-based subsystem orportion thereof, an electro-mechanical subsystem or portion thereof, orthe like. In one embodiment, all or at least some of the applicationsare embodied as algorithms/software/programming instructions as executedby a processor or processor-based unit, e.g., for carrying outdistributed power operations, other train control operations, on-boardand off-board communications operations, emissions control and otherengine control operations, data capture and storage operations, operatorinterface operations, and the like.

Though exemplary embodiments of the present inventive subject matter aredescribed with respect to locomotives, exemplary embodiments of theinventive subject matter are also applicable for use with other poweredsystems, such as but not limited to marine vessels, stationary unitssuch as power plants, off-highway vehicles, agricultural vehicles,and/or mass cargo or mass transit transportation vehicles, each whichmay use at least one engine. Toward this end, when discussing aspecified mission, this includes a task or requirement to be performedby the powered system. Therefore, with respect to a railway vehicle,marine vessel, agricultural vehicle, mass cargo or mass transittransportation vehicle, or off-highway vehicle applications, this mayrefer to the movement of a collective powered system (where more thanone individual powered system is provided) from a present location to adestination. In the case of stationary applications, such as but notlimited to a stationary power generating station or network of powergenerating stations, a specified mission may refer to an amount ofwattage (e.g., MW/hr) or other parameter or requirement to be satisfiedby the powered system.

While the inventive subject matter has been described with reference tovarious exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those ofordinary skill in the art that various changes, omissions and/oradditions may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elementsthereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventivesubject matter. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular situation or material to the teachings of the inventivesubject matter without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, itis intended that the inventive subject matter not be limited to theparticular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated forcarrying out this inventive subject matter, but that the inventivesubject matter will include all embodiments falling within the scope ofthe appended claims. Moreover, unless specifically stated any use of theterms first, second, etc. do not denote any order or importance, butrather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one elementfrom another.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A locomotive communication systemcomprising: a data manager unit configured to be disposed onboard alocomotive and to manage communication from a control system of thelocomotive to a plurality of applications, the control system includingone or more sensors of the locomotive; a private interface configured tocommunicably couple the data manager unit to the control system of thelocomotive, the private interface configured to limit communication withthe control system via a connection protocol, wherein the connectionprotocol is configured to prevent direct communication between thecontrol system and an application that does not use the connectionprotocol; and an open interface configured to communicably couple thedata manager unit and the plurality of applications, wherein the datamanager unit is configured to receive data from the one or more sensorsvia the private interface and the data manager unit is configured tosend the data from the one or more sensors to at least one of theapplications via the open interface.
 2. The communication system ofclaim 1, wherein the data manager unit is further configured to obtaininformation from at least one of the applications and to provide theinformation to at least one other of the applications via the openinterface.
 3. The communication system of claim 2, wherein theinformation obtained from the at least one of the applications andprovided to the at least one other of the applications comprises atleast one of time data or information stored for archival purposes. 4.The communication system of claim 1, wherein information provided fromthe control system to at least one of the applications via the datamanager unit comprises at least one of time data or information storedfor archival purposes.
 5. The communication system of claim 1, whereinthe applications include one or more source applications that operate toprovide information about operation of the locomotive and one or moreservice applications that operate to obtain and use the information fromthe one or more source applications for controlling movement of thelocomotive.
 6. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the datamanager unit is configured to schedule distribution of the data from theone or more sensors to two or more of the applications that requirereceipt of the data at a common time where insufficient bandwidth isavailable to communicate the data to the two or more applications at thecommon time.
 7. The communication system of claim 1, further comprisinga communication management unit configured for communication with thecontrol system via a second private interface dedicated to thecommunication management unit, the communication management unitcommunicably coupled to the data manager unit.
 8. The communicationsystem of claim 7, wherein the communication management unit isconfigured to receive information for use by the plurality ofapplications from sources remote from the locomotive.
 9. Thecommunication system of claim 1, wherein the data manager unit isconfigured to provide additional data that is received from off-boardthe locomotive and that does not originate with the control system ofthe locomotive to the plurality of applications.
 10. The communicationsystem of claim 1, wherein the data manager unit is configured tocontrol communication of the data through a data-distribution servicestandard.
 11. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the datamanager unit is configured to communicate the data from the one or moresensors via the private interface to the at least one application viathe open interface such that the at least one application uses the datato control movement of the locomotive.
 12. A locomotive communicationsystem comprising: a data manager unit configured to be disposed onboarda locomotive and to manage communication of sensor data from a controlsystem of the locomotive to applications of the locomotive; a privateinterface configured to communicably couple the data manager unit to thecontrol system of the locomotive, the private interface configured tolimit communication with the control system via a connection protocolthat prevents direct communication between the control system and anapplication that does not use the connection protocol; and an openinterface configured to communicably couple the data manager unit andthe applications of the locomotive, wherein the data manager unit isconfigured to receive the sensor data via the private interface and thedata manager unit is configured to send the sensor data from the one ormore sensors to at least one of the applications via the open interface.13. The communication system of claim 12, wherein the data manager unitis configured to control communication of information between theapplications via the open interface.
 14. The communication system ofclaim 12, wherein the data manager unit is configured to controlcommunication of information that includes one or more of time data orarchival data and that is provided from the control system to at leastone of the applications via the data manager unit.
 15. The communicationsystem of claim 14, wherein the data manager unit is configured toreceive the information from the control system via the privateinterface and is configured to communicate the information to the atleast one application via the open interface.
 16. The communicationsystem of claim 12, wherein the private interface is a first privateinterface, and further comprising: a communication management unitconfigured to receive off-board information from one or more sourcesthat are off-board the locomotive; and a second private interfaceconfigured to communicably couple the communication management unit withthe control system of the locomotive, wherein the communicationmanagement unit is configured to communicate the off-board informationto one or more of the applications via the data manager unit and thefirst private interface.
 17. The communication system of claim 12,wherein the applications include one or more source applications thatoperate to provide information about operation of the locomotive and oneor more service applications that operate to obtain and use theinformation from the one or more source applications for controllingmovement of the locomotive.
 18. The communication system of claim 12,wherein the data manager unit is configured to schedule distribution ofthe sensor data to two or more of the applications that require receiptof the data at a common time where insufficient bandwidth is availableto communicate the sensor data to the two or more applications at thecommon time.
 19. The communication system of claim 12, wherein the datamanager unit is configured to control communication of the sensor datato the applications of the locomotive through a data-distributionservice standard.